Exception of Development in : An Overview of Region PJAEE, 17 (7) (2020)

EXCEPTION OF DEVELOPMENT IN HARYANA: AN OVERVIEW OF MEWAT REGION

Dr. Jai Kishan Bhardwaj Assistant Professor, Institute of Law, University, Kurukshetra,

Dr. Jai Kishan Bhardwaj : Exception of Development in Haryana: An Overview of Mewat Region - Palarch’s Journal of Archaeology of Egypt / Egyptology, ISSN 1567- 214x

Keywords: Politics, Development, Meos, , Mewat

ABSTRACT “Development consists all around modernisation with sustainability of the system. Haryana which is one of the leading states of India has an oasis of backwardness within it. Despite being in the close proximity of National Capital Territory, the region lags behind in development in its socio-cultural and economic life. With 56% of literacy rate in comparison to 76% at Haryana state and 74% at Indian National level, the region is far behind in health infrastructure and industrial development. Despite being in close proximity of National capital territory, the mud-houses of Meos in the region speak a volume of the status of development. This fate of economic, political and human backwardness has fuelled rumours in the society which hinder the state government’s move of upliftment of region. The present paper tries to highlight this vicious circle by which (erstwhile Mewat) is declared the most backward district of India by ‘NITI AAYOG’ in 2018.”

INTRODUCTION Politics of development in many ways is the primary organising principle in the region, determining to a great extent the formation of a distinctive identity. The people of Mewat suffer from a sense of neglect and discrimination regarding the pace of development in their region as compared to other regions of state of Haryana. The sense of inadequate development in Mewat region triggers for the emergence/hardening of a distinctive regional identity masking other identities. In Mewat, people have a popular grievance about their long-term economic neglect by the state leadership even though Haryana as a state has developed markedly after becoming a constituent state of the Indian Union in 1966. However, it must be underlined here that like in case of other regions, the social conditions prevailing in the region have also had its distinct impact on the interpretations of public policies announced for the whole state. For the successful implementation of public policies, it is imperative to consider the specific economic, social, and cultural conditions of a region. Therefore, decentralisation of power through local

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self-governments is preferred for the welfare of citizen. DEVELOPMENT IN MEWAT VIS-À-VIS OTHER REGIONS OF HARYANA Despite decentralisation of power, there are spatial disparities in the level of development among different parts of the state of Haryana. Haryana occupies the fifth position among Indian states and UTs regarding per capita income. Its per capita income was Rs. 100006 for the year 2011-12. Nuh (erstwhile Mewat) among all the of Haryana has the lowest per capita income which is Rs.45, 934 in 2011-12 financial year. Basic amenities, including proper meal, drinkable water, are not available to the people. Moreover, with the existence of social evils, situation has become worse. Land has become barren because of salty ground water. Water table is also going down. In the countryside of region, women and children remain busy in management of water throughout the whole day. In public offices, officers come/stay for some hours only. Sifting through the literature on the socio-economic conditions of Meos, the paper takes up discussion about the factors that can be held responsible for the marginality of Mewat region. As per 2018 NITI Aayog Report, Nuh (erstwhile Mewat district) has been declared as the most backward district of India. Based upon five sectors, a total of forty-nine indicators of developments including education, health and nutrition the commission has recognised 115 districts including eight districts from Uttar Pardesh and twelve districts from Bihar as backward districts of India which are named as Aspirational Districts of India.

Demographic Factor Demographic factors include demographic characteristics such as sex-ratio, density of population and age groups of the population. Sex ratio in Mewat is 907 in comparison to 875 in rest of Haryana state. Moreover, child sex ratio is 906 in comparison to 829 in rest of Haryana. As per the 2011 census data, Mewat comes in the last position among 21 districts of Haryana in terms of urbanisation2. The rural population in the district of Mewat is 88% which lacks the access to basic amenities such as health facilities, clean drinking water and sanitation. It is well established fact that rural population all over India lack access to basic facilities in health, sanitation and in other infrastructural facilities.1

Mewat district was curved out as 20th district of Haryana by the state government from erstwhile (now Gurugram) and Hathin block of on 4th March 2005. Hathin sub-division was later shifted to the newest district in 2008. More recently the Mewat has been named as Nuh with the name of its district headquarter which is Nuh city. Notably, in Haryana all the districts have been named after the district headquarters. Population growth in the last 10 years is found to be 38% in Mewat with the indication of steep death rate and stable fertility rate. Density of population in the region is 723 persons per SQ. K.M in comparison to 603 persons in rest of Haryana. The emerging trends are indicative of a higher fertility rate in Mewat and therefore, larger families.

The various demographic characteristics such as the literacy rate of population, the access to basic infrastructural facilities including health, housing, sanitation and

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electricity etc. determine the standard of living of the people of Mewat region. Data regarding the infrastructural facilities in Mewat indicate the poor standard of living. For example, in Mewat kerosene is used as source of lighting by the 36% households whereas in other districts of Haryana state 86% households have electricity as source of energy. Similarly, the main source of cooking fuel is firewood in Mewat owing to abundance of trees at the foothills of Aravalis. The higher dependence on firewood for cooking in Mewat has grave health and environmental implication especially for the women. As per the World Health organisation(WHO) Report, 2013 it not only consumes considerable time for women and children limiting other productive activities as they collect fire woods, its uses also results in emission of black carbon and methane which are powerful climate change pollutants. Thus, it is serious health and environmental hazards which afflicts the region of Mewat2. A senior officer interviewed said that due to conservative nature of society people are not involved in government welfare schemes even in the situation when free of cost tanning is given for earning of their livelihood. (See Table 1& Chart 1)

Though majority of people reside in Pucca house in Mewat, but the region is far behind in this aspect when compared with other regions of the state. Facility wise, only 30% households has kitchen facility while it is 68% in case of rest of Haryana. In the absence of proper kitchen facilities, the food is cooked and served in unhygienic conditions which has an adverse impact on the health of the people. Only 24% households in Mewat have latrine facility in comparison to the rest of state where the number is 70%. More than three-fourth of the total population in Mewat defecates in open and hazards of open defecation are well felt over the poor health condition of the people. There are also environmental concerns. Only 22% households are supplied treated water by the government in comparison to more than 50% population in rest of Haryana in this category. Moreover, only 23% households are having water sources within its premises in comparison to 68% households in case of rest of Haryana. Women have to go for long distance sometime up to the neighbouring village to fetch drinking water. Though some initiatives are being taken more recently under the pressure of electoral politics, but social and cultural barriers are eroding the process of development in Mewat region. (See Table2 &Chart 2)

It is very pertinent to mention here that presence of mobile phone in household of Mewat is comparable to other regions of Haryana. The trend indicates the pervasive nature of mobile phones in the households of the Mewat while basic amenities for a healthy living such as latrines remain scarce. It follows that overall, the situation of Mewat is grim and living standard is very low. The quality of life in Mewat is very tough and the district ranks as the least developed region of the state.

Dowry-system in Meos has become a tyranny for the poor parents of girls who cannot afford it. Mainly two factors are held as responsible for the persistence of this evil practice. First, the repute for lavishness which the Meos have inherited from the days when an individual acquired wealth by loot and robbery and the community beguiled them into sharing it with others. The second factor

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contributing to this practice is the inter-gotra rivalry and competition. The individual must uphold not only his individual status but also the status of his gotra against that of gotra in which his son or daughter is married3. “We have separate personnel Law board here and our properly is distributed among male children only which becomes justification to the dowry system among Meos. This is tribal law in real sense... why we are not treated like tribals then..? we have same customs, traditions, Gotras and everything with Meenas which are treated as tribe and given ST status, then why not with Meos.... and this dowry system has become nasoor to poor Meos” (Fazruddin Besar, Sarpanch, Sakras Village,13/11/2018)

EDUCATION Education is important in one’s life not only to earn livelihood but also to live a quality life. Right to education is considered now a fundamental right in India. Since independence the government has initiated many programmes and schemes in recent years such as Surv Sikhsa Abhiyaan ( education for all campaign) , Mid- Day Meal (MDM), Integrated Child Development Services Scheme( ICDS) , School Health Programme(SHP) aim to universalise elementary education, to narrow gender gap in enrolment and to improve the education in rural areas of the country.

The region is backward on educational front with 56.10 per cent of literacy rate as compared to 76 percent at state level in Haryana and 74.04 at National level as according to 2011 census. On the birth anniversary of Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad, the nationwide social campaign of right to education was started from here in the presence of the Chief Minister of Haryana, the Speaker and Union HRD Minister. However, they seem clueless on what purpose would be preserved by it in Mewat. Recently a medical college and an engineering college came up nearby the town of Nuh (District Headquarter of Mewat), but development in education is a far cry, particularly for woman. Their literacy is as low as 37.6 per cent in the district4. On November 15, 2015, under the banner of Mewat Sangharsh Samiti, total of 29 organisations made a rally in Punhana. On the occasion, convenor of the rally, Ramzan Choudhary said that when present Haryana government is opening university in every district then what the fault of Mewat is. Other leaders also emphasise on this need of establishment of university in the region since it is an old demand. The poor infrastructure of the higher education has long drawn socio-economic implications5

Another hindrance in the way of education of children, particularly girl children, is the lack of female teachers in the school. In addition, the female children lack awareness regarding menstruation and also face the non-availability of sanitary napkins which forces around 25% of girl children in India to drop out before they finish elementary education6. (See Table 3)

Moreover, they don’t send their girls far from their house from education. “Hum ladkiyon ko padhate hen,syani hone par nahi bhajte. ladkiyon ke liye school ha hi nahi1.” (We educate girls till they are children ..... do not sent when become adolescent. There is no separate school for girls.) (Hazi Khushi Khan in Malai village, 12/11/2018). “Gavn ke log ladkiyon ko bahar nahi bhejna chahte. Pata

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nahi kaisa mahol hoga, Itni door jaana hoga” (Villagers are not willing to send their girls outside village for studying as they are not sure about the environment. Girls must travels to far-off places), (Shakoona, an ITI Student, Firozpur Jhirka, 13/11/2018). This is also a great worry across the entire rural region of Haryana and one of the reasons for educational backwardness.

The Meos argue that they would educate their girls if there were zenana (all girls) schools with only women teachers. There are some instances of zenana schools in Mewat. One such example is the kulliyat-ut-tahirat (School for Pure Girls) in Bharatpur, . It was started in 1993. Its founder and principal is Maulvi Qasim, grandson of the well-known Meo Miyanji Musa who played a crucial role in the spread of Tablighi Jamaat. The most impressive and remarkable example of girls’ education is the Bibi Fatima school at Duha closed to the border. It is a private school of sarpanch Fajruddin Khan whose untiring efforts have promoted girls education in his area7. The idea of going to school for education and reap dividends in terms of employment seems to be unsuitable to Meos. Moreover, they think poor quality of education in government schools can never arrange government job for them and due to low level of income, private schools are usually beyond of their reach. This issue was considered as a serious threat to the education in Mewat region by administration also. “Achhe school bhi hen, bahar ke bachchhe padte hen, Master bhi bahaar ke, kya fayda hua”(There are good schools also in the region but of no benefit since the students and teachers are outsiders) (Jaan Mohammed, Shopkeeper zhirkha, 14/11/2018). In each district, there is Kendriya Vidyalya... why there in no such school in Mewat” (Rafiq, a school master, Rupraka village, October 2018). As a result, poor Meo see good scope of jobs through short affordable Madrasas education. It is noteworthy that Mewat is the cradle of many Islamic scholars who are employed in mosques and madrasas in different parts of India and abroad (Ishtiaque & Hurera, 2014).8

To conclude, it can be said that the education scenario in Mewat is not up to satisfaction level even as the state has made significant progress. In primary and middle schools, the pupil-teacher’s ratio is much skewed. There is heavy burden on teachers (1:50) which negatively impact the quality of education imparted. In higher education, the number of students is very low and there is poor infrastructure and resources to educate them. Moreover, frequent failure of administration in aid to the needy school students of the region in guess of funds meant for stipend and uniform also impact the education to the Meos negatively. The school children hailing from the poor strata i.e. SC’s, BC’s and BPL family do not receive the meagre funds (SC students from RS. 150 to 300, BPL family from RS. 75-200 and BC 75-200) given to them as stipend on time9.

HEALTH Health of the people in general is not good in the region followed by acute shortage of health facility. Not only deceases are in big numbers but there is lack of proper awareness in this regard. “TB and skin disease are frequent in the region due to lack of cleanliness. Moreover, TB spreads due to the practice of common eating as per dictate of . They do not go for contraceptive measures since

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they consider the birth of children as God’s grace. There are wild rumours about vaccination, scaring to the people. Usually six to seven children are found in every family” (Aditya Gaur, Medical officer, Health centre, Firozepur Jhirkha, October 2018). Another disease that affects many Meo in the region is Malaria. In the Monsoon season in the year 2017, Mewat had the highest cases of Malaria in the whole state of Haryana. (See Table 4)

The main reason of the outbreak of this disease was scarcity of water which forced the people to store water in drums. The stored water became the breeding ground for mosquitoes. Besides, most of the Meos sleep outside with minimum clothes due to erratic electricity supply. According to Nuh civil surgeon, Dr. Shri Ram Siwach, “...against 84 sanctioned posts of multipurpose health workers (MPHW), we have only 5 people working in the district. Similarly, against 13 posts of multipurpose health supervisor (MPHS), only 5 posts are filled”.10 This statement highlights the poor health infrastructure available in Mewat which is discussed in the following section. (See Table 5) The increasing burden on health facilities result in decline of quality of health services provided to the Meos. The situation becomes grimmer in case of reproductive healthcare also. Women are considered nowhere competent in decision making at family and social level too. “hamaare samaaj men auraten panchayat men nahi jaati. Hum unhe dabakar nahi rakhte,hamaari parampara chali aa rahi ha. Unki sun bhi lete hen-unka koi masla ho to. Unki sunkar hi panchayat men fansla hota ha” (Women do not go to panchayat in our society. We do not suppress them. This is our tradition. We listen to them if any issue is related to them. Their opinion is considered while taking decision in panchayat) (Hassan Mohammad, Malai village, 12/11/2018). (See Table 6& Chart 3)

There has been a remarkable increase in the institutional deliveries in the state of Haryana in the year 2019. The overall average of Institutional deliveries in the state is 93%. But in Mewat it is still only 69.3% deliveries are in government and private institutions11. The antenatal care is received by less than half of the expectant mothers in Mewat. The infant mortality rate is also high and magnifies with lack of access of vaccination. A gender disaggregated of the data reveal that less care and attention is given to girl children during their early years which corresponds with high mortality figure among them. Thus, the poor health infrastructure in Mewat indicates the low socio- economic development of the region.

Animal husbandry is the secondary source of income for Meos. The average of three livestock animals per Meo household indicates a great dependence on livestock for earning income along with agriculture. “Kheti ke saath saath dudh ka kaam bhi kar lete the...jo Pahlu ke saath hua, Raghbar aur Akhlakh ke saath hua, hamen dar lagta ha. Hum Yaduvanshi hen...to gaupalak bhi, us hishiab se. Achha dudh deti thi ab muskil se aapko pure gav me,koi gayen milegi,sirf kuch bhans rakhi he kuchh logon ne”....Phle muskil se ekadh bhans milti thi,ab muskil se koi gayen milti ha”.( we used to rear milching animals along with farming. We are

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afraid after the cases of Pahlu khan, Raghbar Khan and of Aulakh. We are Yaduvanshi, therefore we are also cow-rearer. Cow used to give good yield, but now we will hardly find a cow in the whole village. Only a few people rear a few buffaloes. Earlier one could hardly find any buffalo, but hardly will you find any cow now) (Deen Mohammad, Malai village, 12/11/2018). The scarcity of money and non-availability of veterinary services increases the burden of rearing household livestock (Ishtiaque & Hurera, 2014; Mehta et al, 2015)12. (See Table 7 &8)

The sources of water, both for irrigation and drinking purposes are limited. Moreover, the water situation has worsened due to the salinity of ground water due to which cannot be used for drinking. For drinking, 20% water supply is made through public water supply and bore well system while 17% water supply is made through purchased water tanker. Rest of the population is dependent on open wells, private hand pumps, rainwater, ponds, public hand pumps, and canals in Mewat which is contaminated mostly. However, the villagers use pond water for both, irrigation and drinking purposes which affects their health adversely. Water conservation activities are largely absent.13 The government officials do not come forward to the rescue of people even after complaints are being registered.

AGRICULTURE It needs to be mentioned that agriculture is the backbone of Indian economy and Haryana is predominantly an agrarian state. It is important to note that 70% of population of Haryana has agriculture as its main occupation. Haryana contribution to the food grains in India is second largest. Most of the crops grown in Haryana are Kharif crops which are largely rain fed. Most of the people in Mewat are dependent on two occupation for earning their livelihood viz. Agriculture and labour. Agriculture is the mainstay of the people which is dependent on rainfall since irrigation facilities are frugal. Moreover, certified quality seeds are not used. Use of fertilizer, the most important, is very low mainly because of risk of failure of crops and due to poor socio-economic status of marginal and small farmers. (See Table 9 & Chart 4)

The usage of government canals as source of irrigation in Mewat is negligent. The dependence of almost 88% of farmers on tube-well puts extra burden on the groundwater, full of salinity. Moreover, only 41.9 % of area in Mewat is irrigated while remaining 58.1 % is rain fed. Mewat is a drought prone region where small areas have the facility of canal irrigation.14 (See Table 10 & Chart 5)

The people of Mewat have been waiting for the last forty years for the construction of the proposed Mewat canal. The canal will be of 78 kms. Of length which will begin from Sahalwas village in district of Jhajjar and passing through Tauru and hill would reach the Nuh distributor. This distribution will help in filling the Kotla Lake and help in irrigation of thousands of acres of land in the nearby villages. It is noteworthy that Gross Area Irrigated to Gross Area Sown in Mewat is 53.2% in comparison to 88.3% to that of rest of Haryana state. (See Table 11 & Chart 6)

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Apathy of the local and state administration regarding development/irrigation projects in Mewat is evident from the fact that the central water commission has cleared the provision of 741 cusecs of water from the to the Haryana region of Mewat but the project is still hanging into fire. “Are bhai aap garmiyon men SYL ka bahana banaiye, kuchh aur kahiye. Hamaare sare jalashye off season men bhar dijiye.... faltoo pani hota ha. Ground water upper aa jayega aur kum se kum jeev-janvaron ka gujara ho jayega.” (O! brother, if you can have some issue like SYL or any other during summer it is all right. Please fill up our all ponds in off-season so as to provide drinking water to our cattle/livestock.... You have enough water in those days.... our ground water may be rising upward as result) (Fazruddin Besar, Sarpanch, Sakras village, 14/11/ 2018).

Small cultivations, low productivity, minimal modern irrigation facilities, drought at regular intervals, drive the poor and innocent Meo into high debts in the hands of Jain and Hindu Bania moneylenders. Situation of Meo farmers has not changed much in the last century. As the annual administrative report of the government of the Punjab (1916) noted, “The condition of the Meos is rapidly becoming hopeless. They live so literally from hand to mouth, carelessly contracting debt. For marriages, funerals and petty luxuries even in average years that when a year of drought comes, they are thrown on the moneylender who can make with them what terms”.15

Another serious problem faced by the farmers of the region is related to the quality of water supplied to the region. It is argued that the Gurugram canal “is making farmland infertile and forcing farmers to turn to pisci-culture.” People of the region have raised this serious problem of pollution of fields. This untreated water from Delhi and Wazirabad flows in Mewat’s fields and runs up to Rajasthan, after crossing the region affect the health fishes also. The government does not seem to be serious to solve this matter. It is worth mentioning here that Mewat canal is proposed from Salhawas village of and it will reach Nuh through Helimandi, Blaspur chowk and Tawru after crossing though a tunnel nearby Sohna. Proposed project of 78 K.M long will include 7 pumps with a cost of 326 crores which is not approved by central water commission till date16. Not only local leaders but different chief ministers have also promised of its construction only at the time of elections.

PUBLIC UTILITIES AND OTHER SERVICES Public utilities and other services including transport facilities, banks and manufacturing units are necessary to ensure development of a region. Exploring the availability of banks and their usage in the Mewat region, indicate that only 41% of the total households in Mewat avail bank services which is lowest in Haryana. Moreover, people are able to be benefitted to this unavailability of banks.“Bujurgon ko pension milti ha.sarkar ki Direct banefit transfer (DBT) ke tahat khate men pahuchni ha,par gav me bank nahi,kya phayda hua ?”(due to unavailability of banks in the village, the elderly people do not get the banefit of old age pension which is credited in their account through DBT scheme) (Rafiq, School Master, Rupraka village, 12/11/2018). Similarly, the average per capita

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money deposits are among the lowest in Mewat, if compared to other regions. The cooperative societies have also not flourished in Mewat as compared to other regions of Haryana. The reasons are erratic income patterns and almost absence of women in the functioning of cooperative societies. (See Table 12)

It is said in the region that money to Meo means what his wife wears and not what he has to pay to the bank. Only a few people have an account in banks in Alwar, Bharatpur or Gurgaon. Mewat has moved onto the fringes of money economy. Due to the preaching of Tablighi Jamaat, give and take of money as loan is prohibited. In modern society like that of today it is simply inconceivable to do away with the bank, insurance corporations, and other institutions of the credit17. Moreover, attitude of Banks is not supportive in this direction.

Road connectivity in the region is exceptionally low even though most of the villages in the Haryana are connected with roads. The metalled roads in Haryana are 64 per 100 sq. kms which I much higher in comparison to Mewat which has 51per 100 sq kms. Mewat has the least number of markets in the state as the number of villages served by every market is the highest at 110. This leads to low value of agriculture products for the farmers of Mewat. Even Government agencies are reluctant to buy the agriculture produce of the farmers of Mewat as witnessed in the case of denial of Hafed and other government marketing agencies to buy the mustard produce by the farmers of Mewat.18 The Jamat prohibits Meo people from participation in Melas (fairs) which are very popular in Mewat held at places associated with Sheikh Musa, Shah Chokha, Bharti Hari and Lal Das. Even near Nuh a large mela assembles on Teej festival. But Meos are restricted from using such occasions for the purpose of rural development19.

Meo culture is patriarchal and Meo people derive a sense of worth from being Men with pride. A low standard of living and high level of pride are the chief characteristics of the Meos. These two have combined to their exploitation by moneylenders. For the maintenance of status, they usually mortgage their land to the local moneylender known as Bohras. This reduces them to the necessity of working as landless labourers without the chance or hope of ever recovering their land as they get trapped20.

Arguably, pride acts as a deterrent to social development. The pride inherent in the social mind of the Meos cannot but be a hindrance to their progress. The illiterate youths and even adults are influenced by heroic legends of the past, leading to the perception that Delhi and its land is their own rightful due. It was thus the combination of three factors poverty, pride and proximity that had contributed to the notoriety of Meos as cattle thieves, and as robbers and bandits. The poor are in dire straits. Earlier they were employed in stone quarries that have long been shut down. Shops and factories have terminated their services. “It’s that lack of employment opportunities that ends up creating criminals.” said ACP Satheesh Balan21.

Drinking is the next weakness associated with Meo community. No doubt

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preaching of Tablighi Jamaat has diminished this evil. But even then, the region is by no means dry. Villages in the hills also in Alwar and Baharatpur are noted for home brewing and drinking, especially on festive occasions. In the beginning, MDA built good colonies in urban areas, but these colonies are in a dilapidated condition. There is no maintenance and no employee can reside there. All colonies have been declared discarded, but nobody cares.

Factories and Employment As per 2011 census report, total industrial units working in the district were57 while 42 were registered with sole industrial area among them only 16 were registered as medium or large-scale industry. Turnover of small-scale industry and large/medium scale industry was 12403.53 and 15360 lakh respectively. A total of 2000 employees were registered with these factories i.e. 800 with small scale and 1200 with large/medium scale industries. The main difficulty that industrial training institutes face is dropouts in big numbers and child marriage to some extent in countryside. Moreover, people do not send their wards especially girls to the institute due to their fears regarding security. It is worth mentioning here that only 65 girls took admission at ITI Firozepur, Jhirkha, against 150 seats in the present session of 2018-19. Situation worsens when even teachers are not available. There was only one teacher out of five sanctioned post in the ITI meant for girls. “I teach all subjects ... am trying.... but if others subject trained teachers are available, story may be different.”, stated a teacher. Moreover, it is also worth mentioning here that industries also do not want to employ Meo youths due to negative perception about them. The Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited started setting up industrial units at Roz ka Meo which will generate employment for the state’s youth.

The other economic activities in which people may find employment are mining and transport industries. Mining is banned in Haryana but same is legal in neighbouring Rajasthan. It is a lifeline to the market in Zhirkha...... yahan pahaar ka hi kaam ha. Ilake men koi scope nahi, koi rojgar nahi... (Here is work of mining in hills only. There is no other scope, no employment in the area) (Mohammed Umer, Shopkeeper, Mewat Tyre Agency, Jhirkha, 13/11/2018). Government has set up Mewat Development Board (MDB) under the chairmanship of chief minister and local agency named Mewat Development Agency to look after the developmental activities in Mewat region of Haryana. These agencies help the poor students in the way of stipend, construction of new school building, try to accelerate cent present enrolment, starting computer training centre, construction of building and financial assistance to the Mewat Model Schools like fee concession, incentives to girl students etc.“fund ka utilisation theek nahi ha,bahut bharstachar ha. Sakaari afsar nahi chahte varna sab theek ho sakta ha” (Fund is not utilised properly. There is lot of corruption. Much can be done if officer have will to do), (Dr. Mohammad Ashfaq Ali, Mewat Karwan, Rangala village, 13/11/2018).

CONCLUSION From the above discussion, it can be concluded that economic development in the

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Mewat region is still in its infancy stage. Seventy years of independence or even the creation of separate state of Haryana has not brought any big change in the lives of the people of Mewat. As a Meo respondent put it succinctly: “Angrejon ke time parto gulaam the,abto aazad hain,par fayada kuchh nahi hua. Adhikar mil gaye,aapni baat kahto sakte hen,jaise aap se kah rahe hain. Pahle to bol bhi nahi sakte the,par aaj bhi koi hamaara kaam nahi karta.”(We were slave under British .We are free now but there is no use. Now we have rights, we can express our opinion as we are talking to you. We could not even talk earlier but no body work for us today also), (Haji Khusi Khan, Malai Village, 12/11/2018). In the popular perception among the Meo people, a main reason for the continued backwardness of the region is the Muslim identity of Meos who are in majority in the region. “Backwardness is the result of government inactions. Neither our leaders listen to us nor do they do anything for us. Yashin did not let us go to Pakistan nor did anything for our welfare. Successive leaders think if we get education, how their hegemony will sustain.... they misguide people and get vote... sometimes in the name of caste, sometimes in the name of community. They work for self-interest when they attain high position…do not do anything for us.” (Rafiq Ahmad, Advocate, Rupraka village, 12/11/2018).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: I express my deep gratitude who helped me directly or indirectly in my study on Mewat region of Haryana. I thank the staff of different libraries especially Punjab University, , Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, District Library, Gurugram and Jawahar memorial trust and library, New Delhi for their academic support. I am grateful to the people of Mewat region who provide me valuable information during field study.

SOURCE OF FUNDING: Self

CONFLICT OF INTEREST: No conflict of Interest

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Exception of Development in Haryana: An Overview of Mewat Region PJAEE, 17 (7) (2020)

LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS

Table 1: Type of Housing in Mewat Kucha house Pacca House Other Mewat 16.8 83.0 0.1 Rest of Haryana 6.0 93.7 0.1 Sources: Director of census Operations, Haryana (2011)

Chart 1: Type of Housing in Mewat

100 93.7 90 83 80 70 60 50 40 30 16.8 20 6 10 0 Kucha house Pacca House

Mewat Rest of Haryana

Table 2: Asset Ownership Pattern

Radio/ T. V Computer/ Bicycle Scooter/ Car/ Jeep/ Telephone/ N.A* Transistor Laptop Bike Van mobile Mewat 9.0 17.4 6.7 24.0 21.5 4.0 71.3 20.7 Rest of 17.7 70.7 13.9 45.8 34.1 11.0 79.6 8.7 Haryana * None of the assets specified, Sources: Director of Census Operation, Haryana

Chart 2: Asset Ownership Pattern

90 79.6 80 70.7 71.3 70 60 50 45.8 40 34.1

30 24 21.5 17.7 17.4 20.7 20 13.9 9 11 8.7 10 6.7 4 0 Radio/ T.V Computer/ Bicycle Scooter/ Car/ Jeep/ Telephone / N.A* Transistor Lap top Bike Van mobile

Mewat Rest of Haryana

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Exception of Development in Haryana: An Overview of Mewat Region PJAEE, 17 (7) (2020)

Table 3: School Enrolment in percentage terms (2011-12) Senior Secondary Schools Middle Schools Primary Schools

Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls

Mewat 71.8 28.2 64.4 35.6 55.4 44.6 Rest of Haryana 52.7 47.3 54.8 45.2 54.4 45.6

Sources: Director of Secondary/Middle/Primary Education, Haryana

Table 4: Cases of Malaria in Mewat Name of the District No. of Cases Mewat 1103 Palwal 180 Yamuna Nagar 142 84 48 Faridabad 42 43 26 Jhajjar 23 17 Gurugam 13 13 Ambala 11 Fatehabad 11 10 10 Mahendergarh 8 7 7 Source: The Tribune, July 29, 2017.

Table 5: Status of Medical Institutions

Average number of Number of medical institutions per Institution per lakh district population Mewat 105 9.6 Rest of 156 12.8 Haryana Sources: Statistical Abstract (2011), Haryana

Table 6: Indices across Blocks in Mewat Block BCG Institutional Incidence Incidence Accessing Vaccination Delivery of of Institutions for Diarrhoea Malaria Treatment Jhirkha 77.2% 44.0% 6.3% 1.7% 41.8% Hathin 81.6% 63.9% 7.1% 2.0% 53.9% Nuh 92.8% 50.7% 4.4% 1.1% 50.4% Tauru 98.5% 64.7% 3.6% 0.1% 54.5% Punhana 78.3% 51.3% 4.8% 1.0% 62.2% Sources: Statistical Abstract (2011), Haryana

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Exception of Development in Haryana: An Overview of Mewat Region PJAEE, 17 (7) (2020)

Chart: 3 : Indices across Blocks in Mewat

120.00%

100.00% 98.50%

92.80%

81.60% 78.30%

80.00% 77.20%

64.70%

63.90% 62.20%

60.00%

54.50%

53.90%

51.30%

50.70%

50.40%

44.00% 41.80% 40.00%

20.00%

7.10%

6.30%

4.80%

4.40%

3.60%

1.70%

2.00%

1.10% 1.00% 0.00% 0.10% BCG Vaccination Institutional Delivery Incidence of Diarrhea Incidence of Maleria Accessing Institutions for Treatment

Jhirkha Hathin Nuh Tauru Punhana

Table 7: Livestock and Poultry Ownership Pattern Mewat Rest of Haryana Average livestock per household 2.9 2.0 Average Poultry per household 0.8 6.8 Sources: Director General, Animal husbandry and Dairying (2011), Haryana

Table 8: Average Number of Functional Veterinary Institutions Average number of functional Number of functional institutions intuitions per 100 sq. Km. Govt. veterinary Govt. veterinary Govt. veterinary Govt. veterinary hospital dispensary hospital dispensary Mewat 21 65 1.4 4.4 Rest of 45 84 2.2 4.2 Haryana Sources: Director General, Animal Husbandry and dairying (2011), Haryana

Table 9: Ownership of Irrigation Sets Average Number per village Number of persons depend on one set Diesel set Electric set Diesel set Electric set Mewat 18 18 139 137 Rest of 35 77 112 50 Haryana Sources: Statistical Abstract 2011, Haryana

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Exception of Development in Haryana: An Overview of Mewat Region PJAEE, 17 (7) (2020)

Chart 4: Ownership of Irrigation Sets

160 139 137 140

120 112

100 77 80

60 50 35 40 18 18 20

0 Diesel set Electric set Diesel set Electric set

Average Number per village Number of persons depend on one set

Mewat Rest of Haryana

Table 10: Sources of Irrigation Government Tube wells Canals Mewat 12.2 35.4 Rest of Haryana 87.8 64.6 Source: Director of Land Records, Haryana

Chart 5: Sources of Irrigation

100 87.8 90 80 70 64.6 60 Mewat 50 Rest Of Haryana 40 35.4 30 20 12.2 10 0 Government Canals Tube wells

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Exception of Development in Haryana: An Overview of Mewat Region PJAEE, 17 (7) (2020)

Table 11: Land Uses Statistics

Net Area Area sown to Net area Area sown to Sown (000 total Irrigated total cultivable Hectare) cultivable (000 area (%) area (%) Hectare) Mewat 117 100 49 41.9 Rest of 2852 94.3 2542 89.1 Haryana Source: Directorate of Economics and Statistics (2011), Haryana

Chart 6: Land Uses Statistics

3000 2852 2542 2500

2000

1500

1000

500 117 49 0 Net Area Sown Net area Irrigated

Mewat Rest of Haryana

Table 12: Cooperative Societies and Membership Pattern

Average number of Percentage of Members to cooperative societies/ Total Population (2012-13) district (2012-13) Mewat 340 10.5 Rest of 1768 22.3 Haryana Source: Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Haryana

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Exception of Development in Haryana: An Overview of Mewat Region PJAEE, 17 (7) (2020)

REFERENCES

1 Census of India, 2011.

2 ibid. 3 Amir Ali Hashim (1970). Meos of Mewat: Old Neighbour of New Delhi. New Delhi:

Oxford & IBH Publishing Company, p.45. 4 Anita Nuna(2013). Education of Muslim Girls: Barriers, Challenges and Possibilities.

Journal of Indian Education, http://www.ncert.nic.in. (Accessed on 12 February, 2017) 5 Bhardwaj Gurudutt (2015). Mewat Mein University Sthaapit Karne Ki Maang Ko Lekar Mewat Sangharsh Samiti Ka Jordar Pradshan. available at

http://www.viranjan.com/news/349960, (Accessed on 12 February 2017) 6 Gayatri Gitanjali (2017). Nuh Schools Await Funds for Stipend, Uniform. The Tribune,

October 27. 7 Sikand Yoginder (1995). Meonis of Mewat. Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.30,

No.10, pp.491 8 Mayaram Shail (1997). Resisting Regimes: Myth, Memory, and the Shaping of a Muslim

Identity. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp.234-242. 9 S M Sehgal Foundation Gurgaon (2015), Identifying Backwardness in Mewat Region in

Haryana: A Block Analysis, NITI Aayog, , p.44.

10 (2019) Malaria Grips Mewat with 1103 Cases, The Tribune, July29. 11 Saini Ravinder (2019). Rewari Top, Nuh Last in Institutional Deliveries. The Tribune,

May27. 12 Ishtiaque & Hurera(2014). Vetenary services and productivity of livestock in Mewat. in S M Sehgal Foundation Gurgaon (2015), Identifying Backwardness in Mewat Region in

Haryana: A Block Analysis. NITI Aayog, Government of India, p.44. 13 SM Sehgal Foundation Gurgaon (2015). Identifying Backwardness in Mewat Region in

Haryana: A Block Analysis. NITI Aayog, Government of India, p.36.

14 (2018)‘Ab to Budhane Laga Mewat Canale ka Khwab’, Dainik Jagran, March 30. 15 Annual administrative report of Government of Punjab 1916. in Shail Mayaram (1997) Resisting Regimes: Myth, Memory and the Shaping of a Muslim Identity. Delhi: Oxford

University Press, p.151. 16 Manav Sushil (2018). Parched Mewat brings BJP, Cong on Same Page. The Tribune,

March 9.

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17 Amir Ali Hashim (1970). Meos of Mewat: Old Neighbour of New Delhi. New Delhi:

Oxford & IBH Publishing Company, p.87. 18 Gayatri Gitanjali (2018). Untreated Water from Delhi Killing Mewat Fields. The

Tribune, November 1. 19 Ahmad Nafees (2016). Mewat Backwardness and Tablighi Jamaat. Mili Gazette,

Samachar Today, September 21. 20 Mayaram Shail (2004). Hindu and Islamic transnational religious Movements. Economic

and Political Weekly, pp.80-88 21 Directorate of Public Relations, (2018). Pichhre Mewat men Vikas Kary ko Prathmikta: C M. : Chandigarh.

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